Darkness
| rarity = Common | type = Combat Enchantment | combat_casting_cost = | research_cost = | effects = All Fantastic Units of the Realm receive , , and a universal Attack Strength bonus of +1, while those of suffer equivalent penalties of '-1'. }} Darkness is a Common Combat Enchantment of the Realm. For it may be cast during battles to both enhance Fantastic Units of the Realm and hinder those of . This manifests as bonuses of , , and a +1 to all non-spell Attack Strengths of and Undead units; and respectively penalties of the same magnitude for ones. The effect lasts until the end of the battle, or until dispelled by the opponent. Effects Darkness covers the battlefield in infernal energy. This increases the combat prowess of all creatures, while simultaneously reducing that of all units. Death Creature Bonuses While Darkness is in effect over the battlefield, each and every Fantastic Unit of the Realm, including all Undead units, will receive the bonuses outlined below. The spell doesn't care about the unit's allegiance though, so it will affect enemy creatures as well as friendly ones. Attack Strength Bonus :Darkness grants a universal Attack Strength bonus of +1 that applies to nearly all Conventional Damage attacks that the affected units make, with the exceptions being those that deal . It improves Melee Strength, / / Ranged Attack Strength, , , and even Conventional Gaze Attack strength. It does not affect Special Damage attacks (such as Touch Attacks and most actual Gaze effects), Immolation, or any spells cast by these units. :This increases the amount of dice used during Attack Rolls by one which, in turn, improves the average "raw" output of the affected attacks by plus for every additional that the unit has over the baseline. Since this applies on a per-attack basis, naturally benefit more from it than , as do units that can utilize multiple different Attack Types. Defense Bonus :Darkness improves the Defense of the affected units by . As a result, they can use an extra die on their Defense Rolls when trying to mitigate Conventional Damage, which increases their average reduction by . Although can be said to receive more of a benefit, this is only true if, after a first Defense Roll, an attack still inflicts at least as much as they have per - the condition for triggering another roll. Resistance Bonus :Darkness also improves the Resistance of the affected units by . This makes them harder to affect with Unit Curses and most forms of Special Damage. Any unit that reaches thanks to this bonus is now immune to all ill effects that don't impose a Resistance penalty, as they can no longer fail their checks against them. Life Creature Penalties While Darkness is in effect over the battlefield, each and every Fantastic Unit of the Realm will receive the penalties outlined below. Attack Strength Penalty :Darkness reduces the Attack Strength of nearly all Conventional Damage attacks made by the affected units, with the exceptions being any attacks that deal . In practice though, for units, this will actually only be their , as none of these units have any other conventional Attack Type in the original game. This penalty means that they will use one less die on their Attack Rolls, which translates to an average "raw" loss of per attack, plus another for every that the unit has over the base chance . This effect is stronger against than other units, as they are , and can thus perform multiple attacks with a single combat action. Defense Penalty :Darkness inflicts a Defense penalty of to the affected units. As a result, they will have one less die to use on Defense Rolls when trying to mitigate Conventional Damage. This decreases their reduction by an average of (or if they are under the effect of of ). Resistance Penalty :Darkness also inflicts a Resistance penalty of on the affected units, which makes them slightly easier to affect with Unit Curses, and more prone to suffering Special Damage. Darkness vs. True Light Darkness and are designed to be identical and opposite. Darkness gives bonuses to creatures and penalizes those of , while exerts the exact same effect the other way around. The two spells are not mutually exclusive on the battlefield. Therefore, it is possible to have both spells affecting the battle simultaneously. Because they are equal and opposite effects, they essentially cancel each other out. Cloud of Shadow, Eternal Night There are two overland spells that can also activate a Darkness effect automatically, without having to cast the spell in battle. is a Rare Town Enchantment that triggers this effect every time the enchanted Town comes under siege by an opposing army; while , a Very Rare Global Enchantment, will enshroud any battlefield where the caster's units are engaged, whether they are the offending or defending force. Neither of these spells indicate their effect in the combat enchantment windows, where Darkness would normally be shown. Instead, they are both listed in the combat information window, invoked by pressing the "Info" button during battle. Even though they are named differently ("Cloud of Darkness" and "Eternal Night" respectively), they do in fact apply the same Darkness effect, to the point of preventing this spell from being re-cast as a Combat Enchantment by the same party. Usage Darkness may only be cast during combat, for a basic Casting Cost of . If the casting is successful, the spell's icon will appear in one of the enchantment windows at the bottom of the screen, underneath the name of the Wizard whose side has cast the spell (left or right depending on whether it is cast by the defending or attacking force). Darkness will then start exerting its effect immediately, and remains active until the end of the battle, or until it is dispelled. Since it does not carry over to the overland map, the spell has no Upkeep Cost. Acquisition As a Common Spell of the Realm, Darkness may become available to any Wizard who acquires at least Spellbook. With none, the spell can naturally not be learned during the campaign. This is the minimum requirement for it to be traded for, appear in Treasure, or be found in the spoils of victory when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who already knows it. The base chance for Darkness to be researchable (at some point) in the campaign is roughly 30% (with book), which gradually increases with the amount of Spellbooks possessed or found during gameplay. With or more, the spell is certain to show up sooner or later, unless acquired from another source. It has a Research Cost of , although its research is quicker for Wizards possessing the Sage Master Retort, or a bookshelf containing or more. Darkness may also be selected as a starting spell by any Wizard with at least books. In this case, it will be available for casting as soon as the game begins. In addition, Darkness is available as a Hero spell. It is known by Morgana the Witch, although it's worth noting that this feature is bugged in the latest official version of the game, and Darkness is one of the few affected spells. This means that Morgana will likely not be able to actually access this spell unless the player installs one of the unofficial patches. Even then, she can't cast it at her initial level either. She needs to become at least a (level 3), become a (level 2) if one of her Random Abilities is extra , or otherwise equip Magical Items to gain enough to use Darkness. Strategy Darkness is an excellent spell to empower an army made up primarily of and/or Undead units. Naturally, the more such units are in an army, the more cost-efficient the spell becomes, especially if many of them are , as they get a noticeably bigger boost to their offensive power. Darkness is also one of only a handful effects capable of enhancing , including the Conventional Damage components of Gaze Attacks (hidden or otherwise); and can be used to offset a penalty applied by . It may be worth noting though, that casting Darkness may be counter-productive when trying to rely on the Life Steal ability to create Undead, particularly with small groups of . Although it does increase their survivability, it also shifts their ratio towards more Conventional- and less Life Stealing Damage, ultimately reducing the chance of slain enemy units being turned. While this can be partially offset by , if available, to maximize the chance, it is typically better to not cast Darkness unless the units take too much of a beating without it. Alternatively, Darkness can also be used to hinder an opposing army that is comprised primarily of units. Although such stacks are not commonly seen being used by AI Wizards, and there are no Rampaging Monsters in the original game either, the spell can occasionally come in handy nonetheless, when trying to clear Encounter Zones featuring creatures. Category:Combat Enchantments Category:Death